York Regional Police informs municipalities it will no longer deal with most raccoon, skunk distemper cases

Yorkregion.com
May 4, 2016
By Jeremy Grimaldi

The number of skunks and raccoons with distemper having to be "dispatched" by police in York Region has ballooned so much, the service will stop the practice.

In 2015, police euthanized 80 animals with their firearms, a 175-per-cent rise from 2014, when 29 were put down.

It's not only an inefficient use of the service's resources, according to York Regional Police, but also a safety risk, considering officers are often having to shoot the injured animals with shotguns in urban areas around highly populated areas.

Thornhill, specifically, has seen two incidents where people felt at risk near officers while they destroyed animals.

In November, a 78-year-old man received injuries to his head after police shot a seriously injured deer in the Henderson and Proctor avenues area.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is investigating that incident.

Then, in March, a postal carrier reported feeling fearful when police shot a skunk with him nearby - the officers waited several hours for the sick animal to meander its way to a safe area so that it could be shot.

That same day, police were called to another nearby site to help out with another skunk.

In that case, the animal was bleeding from its eyes and had other festering body parts.

As a result of the police decision, each municipality in the region has now been advised that as of Sept. 1, police will no longer fulfill this role and they will have to figure out their own methods.

In a letter sent to each town and city, police said they will only be responding to animal complaints as a result of vehicle collisions.

"Police firearms are not meant to be used as primary tools for wildlife management," the letter states.

Distemper is a viral disease also found in dogs and mimics the effects of rabies, but unlike rabies, it is not transferable to humans. It can result in animals appearing discombobulated, wandering in circles and unafraid of humans and can also lead to paralysis and brain damage. Dogs should be vaccinated against the disease as a precaution.

York Region is not alone in its struggles with distemper.

Toronto has seen a marked rise in the number of skunks with distemper, along with Waterloo and other parts of the GTA and throughout Ontario.

Bill Dowd, owner of Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, who works in many jurisdictions across the GTA, said he's seen a 20- to 30-per-cent rise in the number of distemper cases in many communities.

"We're seeing warmer weather and, as a result, everything is more active, the animals that would have died from distemper in colder winters have survived and we're witnessing the effects," he said.

Another result of the warm weather, he said, has been healthier and stronger raccoon populations.

"Raccoons used to be hidden away all winter, dealing with food scarcity, but now they are able to get food in the winter," he said. "We used to see litters of four or five, but now we're seeing six or seven in one litter."

Sajad Ahmad from Vaughan's 24/7 Pest Control agreed, noting it's likely the growth in raccoon and skunk populations that is driving the rise in distemper.

"It's population control, like in any species," he said. "When the population rises, more disease will come. Also, it spreads faster because raccoons are territorial, so they get in many fights, scratching one another."

In 2015, after a 10-year hiatus in Ontario, a case of rabies was discovered in Hamilton.

The penetration into the Golden Horseshoe has raised warning flags at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, as officials are concerned it might spread to other communities. However, that hasn’t occurred, according to one scientist who is studying the disease throughout Ontario.

Chris Davies said he has sampled close to 3,000 animals and nothing has been found in York Region yet.

Last week, Toronto launched its new "raccoon-proof" garbage bins in the city's ongoing fight against what many say has been a rise in its raccoon population.

Several municipalities were contacted for comment, but only Vaughan replied, noting it is looking into its options and council will discuss them in June.